11886: Ruling on women wearing gold rings

Some of the women among us are confused because of the fatwa of the scholar Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, the muhaddith (hadeeth scholar) of Syria, in his book Adaab al-Zafaaf (The Etiquettes of Marriage and Wedding) concerning the prohibition of wearing gold rings in general. There are women who have given up wearing them, and they describe the women who do wear them as being misguided and misguiding others. What do you say about the wearing of gold rings in particular? We urgently need your evidence and fatwa, because the matter has gotten out of control. May Allaah forgive you and increase you in abundance of knowledge.

Published Date: 2001-03-22

Praise be to
Allaah.

Women are permitted to wear gold, in the form
of rings and otherwise, because of the general meaning of the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning),

“(Like they then for Allaah) a creature
who is brought up in adornments (wearing silk and gold ornaments, i.e.
women), and who in dispute cannot make herself clear?”

[al-Zukhruf 43:18],

where Allaah mentions that wearing adornments
is an attribute of women; this includes gold and other things. And Ahmad,
Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i narrated with a jayyid isnaad from Ameer al-Mu’mineen
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) that “These two
[gold and silk] are forbidden for the males of my ummah.” Ibn Maajah
added in one narration, “and permitted for the females.”

It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasaa’i, and
by al-Tirmidhi who classed it as saheeh, and by Abu Dawood, and by al-Haakim
who classed it as saheeh, and by al-Tabaraani, and classed as saheeh
by Ibn Hazm, from Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be pleased with him),
that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Gold and silk have been permitted for the females of
my ummah, and forbidden for the males.”

It was criticized for there being a gap [in the isnaad]
between Sa’eed ibn Abi Hind and Abu Moosa, but there is no reliable
evidence for that. We have mentioned above those who classed it as saheeh.
Even if we assume that the criticism mentioned is valid, it is still
supported by other saheeh ahaadeeth, as is the well-known principle
among the imaams of hadeeth.

This was the view of the scholars of the salaf.
More than one of them narrated that there was consensus (ijmaa’) that
it is permissible for women to wear gold. We will mention the views
of some of them in order to make the matter more clear.

Al-Jassaas said in his Tafseer (vol.
3, p. 388) in his discussion of gold: “The reports narrated from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and from the Sahaabah stating that it is permitted
for women are clearer and more well-known than the reports which suggest
that it is not allowed. The evidence of the aayah [he is referring to
the aayah which we have quoted above] also indicates that it is permissible
for women.

The practice of women wearing jewellery has
been widespread from the time of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Sahaabah until the
present day, without anyone denouncing them for doing that. Such a widespread
practice cannot be objected to on the grounds of some aahaad reports.”

Ilkiya al-Harraasi said in Tafseer al-Qur’aan
(vol. 4, p. 391), in his commentary on the aayah “a creature
who is brought up in adornments” [al-Zukhruf 43:18 – interpretation
of the meaning]:

“This indicates that jewellery is permissible
for women. There is proven scholarly consensus (ijmaa’) on this point,
and the reports concerning that are innumerable.”

Al-Bayhaqi said in al-Sunan al-Kubraa
(vol. 4, p. 142), when he mentioned some of the ahaadeeth which indicate
that gold and silk are permissible for women, without discussing the
texts in detail:

“These and similar reports indicate that it is permissible
for women to adorn themselves with gold. The fact that there is consensus
that this is permissible for them indicates that the reports which indicate
that it is haraam for women have been abrogated.”

Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo’ (vol.
6, p. 40):

“The Muslims are agreed that it is permissible for
women to wear various kinds of adornment, of silver, gold and silk,
by consensus, because of the saheeh ahaadeeth.”

He also said (vol. 6, p. 40):

“The Muslims are agreed that it is permissible for women
to wear various kinds of adornment, of both silver and gold, of all
types, such as necklaces, rings, bracelets, bangles, and everything
that is worn on the neck and elsewhere, and everything that is ordinarily
worn. There is no dispute on this matter at all.”

He said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim,
in the chapter on the prohibition of gold rings for men, and the abrogation
of their being permissible which had existed at the beginning of Islam:

“The Muslims are agreed that gold rings are permissible
for women.”

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said in his commentary on the hadeeth of al-Baraa’ – “The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) forbade seven things, he forbade gold rings…” – (vol. 10,
p. 317):

“The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade gold rings, or making
rings of gold, to men only, not women. It has been reported that there
is scholarly consensus concerning their being permissible for women.”

The fact that gold is permitted for women
in general, whether it is formed into rings or not, is proven by the
two hadeeth quoted above, and by the comments of the scholars mentioned
above, and by the scholarly consensus that the following ahaadeeth are
to be accepted:

1 – The hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood
and al-Nasaa’i from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb from his father from his grandfather,
that a woman came to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with a daughter of hers,
on whose hand were two heavy bangles of gold. He said to her, “Do you
pay zakaah on these?” She said, “No.” He said, “Would you be happy if
Allaah were to give you two bracelets of fire on the Day of Resurrection
because of these?” So she took them off and threw them to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), saying, “They are for Allaah and His Messenger.” The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) explained to her the obligation to pay zakaah on the two
bangles mentioned, but he did not rebuke her for putting them on her
daughter. This indicated that that is permissible, although they were
formed into the shape of circles. The hadeeth is saheeh and its isnaad
is jayyid, as was pointed out by al-Haafiz in al-Buloogh.

2 – It was narrated in Sunan Abi Dawood
with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
that she said: “Some jewellery came to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as a gift from the Negus
(the ruler of Abyssinia), as a gift to him. It included a gold ring
in which was set an Abyssinian stone. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) picked it up hesitantly
with a stick or with his fingers, then he called Umaamah the daughter
of Abu’l-‘Aas and his daughter Zaynab. He said, ‘Adorn yourself with
this, O my daughter.’” The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave a ring to Umaamah,
which was formed from a circle of gold, and said, “Adorn yourself with
this.” This indicates that gold formed into a circle is permissible
on the basis of this report.

Abu Dawood and al-Daraaqutni narrated, and
al-Haakim classed as saheeh, as stated in Buloogh al-Maraam,
a report from Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that she
used to wear anklets of gold. She said, “O Messenger of Allaah, is this
kanz (stored wealth)?” He said, “If you pay the zakaah on it,
it is not kanz.”

With regard to the ahaadeeth which appear
to forbid women wearing gold, they are shaadhdh (“odd”), and
contradict those which are more saheeh and stronger. The imams of hadeeth
have stated that what is said in the ahaadeeth with jayyid isnaads but
goes against ahaadeeth which are more saheeh, and they cannot be reconciled,
and the chronology is not known, such reports are to be regarded as
shaadhdh (“odd”) and unreliable, and they are not to be followed.
Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Alfiyyah:

“A shaadhdh (odd) report is one in
which a thiqah (trustworthy) person says something which goes
against the majority.

Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in al-Nukhbah:

“If it is contradicted by something that is
more correct, then the correct report should be adopted and the one
that contradicts it is shaadhdh (odd)

They also stated that the condition for a saheeh hadeeth
to be accepted is that it should not be shaadhdh (odd). There
is no doubt that the ahaadeeth which state that gold is haraam for women,
even if we accept that their isnaads are free of faults, cannot be reconciled
with the saheeh ahaadeeth which indicate that gold is permissible for
females, when we do not know which reports came first. So they have
to be regarded as shaadhdh and not saheeh, following this shar’i
principle which is accepted by the scholars. What our brother ‘Allaamah
Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani has mentioned in his book
Adaab al-Zafaaf, reconciling these reports with the ahaadeeth
which permit (gold to women) by interpreting the prohibition as applying
to gold formed into circles and the permission as applying to other
kinds of jewellery, is not correct and is not in accordance with the
ahaadeeth which indicate that gold is permitted, because the ahaadeeth
permit rings, which are in the form of a circle, and they permit bangles,
which are in the form of a circle. So what we have mentioned becomes
clear. Moreover the ahaadeeth which indicate that gold is permitted
are general and are not restricted in meaning. So we must follow them
because they are general in meaning and because their isnaads are saheeh.
This is supported by the reports narrated by a group of the scholars
that there was consensus that the ahaadeeth which indicate that gold
is forbidden were abrogated, as we have quoted from them above. This
is the truth beyond a doubt. Hence confusion may be dispelled and the
ruling of sharee’ah becomes clear: there is no doubt that gold is permitted
to the females of this ummah and is forbidden to the males. And Allaah
is the Source of strength. Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds,
and may Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and
his family and companions.